Athens Area Diaper Bank recently announced its new diaper distribution van, which will help improve the reach of the organization’s work in the area surrounding Athens-Clarke County. This expansion of rural diaper distribution is supported by the Community Project Funding through Senator Jon Ossoff, according to Athens Area Diaper Bank press release.
Athens Area Diaper Bank received the van earlier this year, and it has made diaper distribution journeys to the organization’s community partners, which include other non-profits, government agencies, schools and churches. In the coming months, the diaper bank plans to begin mobile diaper distributions that will provide diapers directly to families in rural communities.
“We are so grateful to have this opportunity. There are fewer resources available for families in rural communities, so this van helps bridge the gap between our services and the families that need them,” Erin Campbell, founder and executive director of Athens Area Diaper Bank, said in the release.
By the end of 2024, Athens Area Diaper Bank aims to provide 30,000 diapers monthly with the new distribution van.
Athens Area Diaper Bank is a non-profit that “strives to eradicate diaper need by providing diapers to low-income families in the Athens area, while raising public awareness of diaper need and its impact.”
The diaper bank serves Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and Oglethorpe counties and is located at 130 Conway Drive, Suite E, in Bogart, Georgia.
With diapers costing more than $1,000 every year, diaper need is a problem that affects one in two families in the U.S., according to the release.
In the Athens area, there are more than 8,000 children at risk of experiencing diaper need. Because government assistance programs, such as WIC and food stamps, do not cover the cost of diapers, many families that experience diaper need often resort to reusing soiled diapers or sacrificing other necessities like food in order to purchase diapers, the release said.
Since its inception in October 2015, Athens Area Diaper Bank has collected diapers from all over the community. The diaper bank became an independent organization in 2018.
